When Electronic Arts told us that Ghost Games would be skipping its 2014 Need for Speed release, we didn't understand why.

Now we know why and that is so they could develop a new Need for Speed that is really special, but that kind of development takes time.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in his Q3 FY15 earnings call that the new Need for Speed has long been in development at Ghost Games and it looks "spectacular" and we will see it when it arrives in 2015 later this year. According to Marcus Nilsson, "this is the Need for Speed game that fans have been asking for." We will see.

As for Star Wars Battlefront, the release of the game is on track and should be in alignment with the new Star Wars movie rollout. We should expect it to arrive before Xmas. It is said to be shaping up to be quite a title and it is being called the ultimate Star Wars battle experience by those who have seen it.

EA promises more specifics in the weeks ahead, which we believe means E3. No word on the Skate franchise coming to next-gen, but we are still hearing that this is a go. We also now have it confirmed that PGA Tour will not make release till FY16 which means that it will be released sometime between April and June of 2015.

The upcoming patch for Need for Speed Rivals will include a nice little bonus in the form of the new Ford 2015 Mustang. All players have to do is download the upcoming patch for Need for Speed Rivals and it will be included as a bonus.

Besides being the first chance to virtually drive the new 2015 Mustang before it arrives in dealer showrooms in 2014, Ghost games says that they have worked closely with Ford to create an accurate representation of the new Mustang.

Ford provided engineering data several months to Ghost games before it even showed the Mustang to the rest of the world. So the development of the 2015 Mustang has been going on for some time and it will deliver an exciting virtual driving experience till the real thing arrives.

The patch for Need for Speed Rivals can be downloaded right away and besides the new 2015 Mustang to drive, the patch will feature some unique 2015 Mustang achievements for players to earn and you will be able to sport one of five special liveries on your 2015 Mustang that are included with the patch.

The dust has not even settled on the last Need for Speed title know as Rivals and an EA job ad tips that another Need for Speed title is already in development and has been for months at the Need for Speed studio known as Ghost Games.

The ad which was posted back on October 29th indicates that Ghost is developing for Need for Speed Rivals as well as started work on the future iterations of the franchise. That is about as confirmed as it gets from where we sit.

What is unknown is if the new Need for Speed title is something that is for release next year or not? We suspect that this could be the case as a Need for Speed movie is coming and what a better it would be if EA had a new Need for Speed title to be released that went along with the movie. Of course this is just a guess, but it does seem very likely that the next Need for Speed title will be a movie tie-in for sure.

There are apparently a couple of factors that went into the decision not to product a Wii U version of the upcoming Need for Speed: Rivals. The biggest reason that the decision was made not to do a Wii U version is simply that the Wii U version of NFS Most Wanted did not have the kind of sales that EA was projecting for that platform.

The sales of Need for Speed: Most Wanted on the Wii U were disappointing according to creative director Craig Sullivan. A lot of the disappointment comes from the additional time and effort that was made to make the Wii U version the best it could be and take advantage of the special features that were unique to the Wii U.

In addition to NFS Rivals not coming to the Wii U, it also does not help that the game uses the DICE developer Frostbite 2 engine that was not or has not yet been ported to the Wii U. Of course while Sullivan does not talk about this, it had to be a factor according to our sources.

The decision was made to focus the game on the consoles with the largest audience and best track record for purchasing racing titles. NFS Rivals is due to be released for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 22nd. Followed by a PlayStation 4 release that will come on November 29th.

The first DLC pack for Need for Speed: Most Wanted (that is called the “Ultimate Speed Pack”) is speeding toward release this month. In the first DLC package offered for the Criterion developed NFS title, the developer will add 25 new events and five of the fastest rides that you could want to get your hands on.

The main attraction of this DLC has to be the rides, and the addition of the Pagani Zonda R, McLaren F1LM, Lamborghini Aventador J and Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, as well as a new Most Wanted rival - the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.

The DLC will add an additional 70 new “Speed-Themed” milestones, as well as the 25 new events that will make use of the five new cars, and the package seems to provide a good expansion for the buck. The DLC will add new achievements as well as new trophies for players to obtain.

Due in late January, it will cost 800 Microsoft Points or $10 in the PlayStation Store or on the PC using EA’s Origin content distribution store. While we are talking about versions of the Most Wanted, it might be worth noting that the announced PlayStation Vita version is still MIA with no comment from Criterion or publisher, Electronic Arts.

Electronic Arts is confirming that the Wii U console will get Need for Speed: Most Wanted, but they are going to have to wait for it. When released on October 30th, the game will be available for the Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android platforms.

The Wii U version will be coming next year and as of right now, there is no word on who will be handling the Wii U port of the game. It might be that as with Mass Effect 3: Special Edition for the Wii U, it will be outsourced under the supervision of Criterion to another studio.

As for specific enhancements to the Wii U version, that also is up in the air. There is no word yet on how they will use the GamePad and whether it will use the CloudComplete feature. Sources tell us that we should hear more about it in the months ahead; and the best news for Wii U owners is that they will be getting a port of this title at some point in the future.

A number of rumors have been circulating that the PlayStation Vita version of the upcoming Need for Speed: Host Pursuit that is being developed by Criterion will not make its scheduled October 30th launch date in North America, nor its November 2nd launch date in Europe.

Our sources tell us that Electronic Arts claims this is false; and the Vita version will make its scheduled release dates. Initially, rumors had circulated that the Vita version of the game was being delayed for release till spring of 2013 for reasons that were unclear.

While EA seems confident that the Vita version will make its launch dates, we have seen situations where at the last minute one version of a title is held to get some bugs out or take more time to tweak the game a little. If a delay were to be announced, it is expected to only be for the Vita release, as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions are on track for scheduled release.

Sources are telling us that a new Need for Speed title is in development at EA’s Gothenburg studio under the leadership of Alex Ward from Criterion. While we know that Ward was said to be working with the Gothenburg team, we also know that Criterion will have significant involvement in all Need for Speed titles going forward.

The talent at the Gothenburg studio features a collection of developers that have worked on a number of racing titles, including Project Gotham Racing; Need for Speed: The Run; RACE Pro; and Forza Horizon. With a collection of developers that have a talent for racing games, it does seem likely that this is what they are working on.

While EA has not formally announced what Gothenburg is working on we do know that it will use DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine, as with most everything else coming out of EA these days. Rumors suggest that it is very likely that Gothenburg will replace Black Box as the other Need for Speed development studio, but EA isn’t talking and actually we didn’t expect them to. Their focus right now is clearly on the release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted that Criterion has developed, which will be released on October 30th in North America and November 2nd in Europe.

In an interesting turn of events, it would appear that Need for Speed: Most Wanted, due to be released soon from Electronic Arts and developer Criterion, will apparently offer more than just Kinect support.

The latest box art that we are seeing for the PlayStation 3 version of the game indicates that it also offers Move support. The box art indicates that it is “PlayStation Move Compatible,” which seems to indicate that it has been included.

While the Kinect support was indicated in the first wave of box art for the game, we were unable to see indications of support for PlayStation Move. So far, Electronic Arts and Criterion have remained quiet on what support might be included beyond the typical use of the controller. We suspect that we will hear something more official when we get a little closer to release.

Electronic Arts confirmed that new titles are in development for both the Dead Space and Need for Speed franchises. While EA did not provide any additional details on either title, they did say that both were targeted for release by March 2013.

Rumors suggest that the Need for Speed title could be Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2, which would be a Criterion developed sequel to the surprise Need for Speed: Most Wanted hit, which helped turn the Need for Speed franchise in the right direction.

As for Dead Space, we don’t really know anything at all about Dead Space 3. While a number of rumors have suggested that the third installment might take place on a frozen planet, EA has never confirmed that this is the case.

With a targeted release date of March 2013, we suspect that EA is planning to give these two titles a lot of attention at E3.